Straight from the heart...

Rescuing our lost heroes

2010-03-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

I was watching a rather one sided IPL (Indian day Premier League) game earlier in the day when something suddenly stirred my mind.

Today on the IPL stage, we laud and applause when Hayden thrashes Irfan Pathan over the ropes for a six (oh I forgot, they call it a DLF Maximum these days). We've all witnessed the decline of Pathan but did that ever bother us? He shot into fame overnight with a nine wicket haul against Bangladesh and as a result found himself in the Indian test team to Australia in the early 2000s. Ironically, as I write this, I remember quite clearly that Hayden's was in fact Irfan’s first wicket in test matches. He rose and rose and went on take a hat trick against Pakistan in Pakistan and even was a match winner for India on numerous occasions. He was even adjudged the Man of the Match of the T-20 world cup final which India won. So what went so terribly wrong that he can't even make a place for himself in the Indian team today? Whatever may be the reason, we are on the brink of losing a fine cricketer in him.

The story of Mohammad Kaif is no different. Who can forget the massive total India managed to reach, to win the Natwest Series final against England in England? And who can't remember the dramatic catches Kaif managed to hold on to, helping India win on numerous occasions? The then Indian skipper—Saurav Ganguly even went on to say that it didn't matter if Kaif didn't score handsomely as he easily saved 30-35 runs for the team almost every time. But where is Kaif now? Even his name has lost unnoticed amongst the horde of new talent flooding the Indian team recently. Again, tales of Laxmipathy Balaji and Ashish Nehra are spookily similar. Both of them got sidelined as a result of their injuries, never to be seen on the big stage again (though Nehra had his chances, still lagged behind due to repeated injuries).

Cricket, no doubt is a great leveler. But at no cost can we afford to lose some of the astounding cricketers I've mentioned above. Maybe the “Board of Control for Cricket in India” (BCCI) should act and act soon in this respect. Maybe players like these can be sent for quality training again in such academies as the “MRF pace foundation”, so that they can be rehabilitated once more. These players haven't even reached their thirties and in fact are much younger. Believe me, it pains a lot when I see much elder players like Warne, Jaisurya, Hayden, Gilchrist, Muralidharan, Kumble, Symonds and Dravid still making a mark, still proving their mettle on the international stage (though many of them have retired). Perhaps the BCCI should, for a while, de-focus themselves from the money (which they transact in millions of US dollars of course) and care for players like Pathan, Kaif, Nehra and Balaji. Otherwise it won't take long until we see some more Kamblis and Agarkars emerging, and the day this happens, it would be indeed the saddest day of Indian Cricket.

We're at it—again.

2010-03-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's such an irony that we are being peppered with such contrasting ads these days. It's nothing new, is it? But this time, the contrast is just not forgivable.

They ask us to express concern over diminishing numbers of our national animal—less than about 1.5 thousand tigers left in our forests—but is everyone participating in the quest for saving the animal?

No, you can't expect us to go to the jungles and stop the illegal poaching but does that mean we become so indifferent? In this respect I think, Vodafone has to answer some very serious questions.

Two of their otherwise adorable ads show the tiger being fiddled with—a feat only the selfish man has been able to achieve.The Zoo Zoos mess around with the animal, sometimes jumping on its tail and at other times toying with its jaws.

These ads are especially a magnet for children and by broadcasting them what are we educating the tiny minds? Utter disrespect for the animal that's on the brink of going extinct?

It's good to have some humor delivered right into our living rooms but at least a message highlighted in favor of saving the national animal surely won't harm anyone, if at all it doesn't do any good.

After all, animals do deserve some rights, don't they?

It's time for a change

2010-03-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

As you read these lines that come at you,
draw a picture in your mind and paint.
I wonder this will change you a bit
for sinner can't be transformed into saint.

We gorge on pastas, pizzas, all that's junk
and die one day blowing up obese.
Millions of souls die of starvation,
they can't afford a cure for their disease.

We can't have a bath without those showers,
our taps spit water till they get spent.
People bake themselves in blazing sun,
lining up for their share, until they faint.

You buy him a first shooter video game,
he kills, as you sit back and enjoy.
Thanks to the “Jihad” of fanatics,
guns don tiny hands instead of a toy.

Why such scorn for women bearing women?
Why does a baby girl have to die?
Why curse the mother if it's an Eve?
Do you blame her for not lending a "Y"?

You can ease yourself up with your girlfriend,
you can hold hands with her at a café.
Imagine what two men must go through
when they can't do it, because they are gay?

We invented guns, bombs and nuclear weapons
'cause we love barren land more than life.
Why spend billions searching life on Mars?
To get it just murdered in all this strife?

Is this why He gave us all this wisdom,
to smother our brothers and survive?
If this remains the way Men treat Men,
it's a whale of a shame to be alive.

Why classify and assort ourselves
into Whites, Blacks, Yellow and Brown?
If you just love to despise someone,
hate those Hitlers and Saddams still around.

Wake up, for it is time we make a change.
Wake up, for it's time we rescue our race.
An act of kindness is all it'll take
to make our planet Earth, a better place.

Rhyme scheme: a-b-c-b
Syllable scheme: 10-9-9-10

How do I show you my love?

2010-03-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

I can't find a way to illustrate
oceans of love flowing inside my heart
that are just waiting to bathe you.
No matter how hard I try
to drop a line exclusively for you or
somehow manage to churn out a song,
your love will always overshadow the notes
for it is the sweetest music
that was ever heard on Earth.

Even then I try to tell you this
by loving you more each passing day--
sometimes when you're deep asleep,
I gently whisper those words in your ears
or lie to you that my office is closed
just to spend a day just watching those eyes.

Still can't let you know how I feel for you
for no language can ever express
the love for you that resides deep within me.
I don't even like scribbling these words
'cause unlike this piece of message,
I love you without any punctuations
and it would be like this everyday,
it would be the same forever.

Is this the way you promised to love me?

2010-03-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

As I look back in time I finally realize

something that I should’ve long before.

How foolish I was to dream so big—

even when you don't care for me anymore?

I remember the mornings when you woke me up,

even made me a cup of tea.

Now you're off to work before I’m awake,

an empty pillow is just what I see.

You told me once you wanted a home like heaven,

so I tried hard, 'cause your dream was now mine.

I left my job and turned into a maid

but didn't think you'll put my heart on the line.

What did I get from all my sacrifice?

Now this ain't our home; this is just a house.

I had my eyes but still went blind,

you told me I'd always be your friend, not a spouse.

Remember the days your lips won't get off mine,

now they have all the time for a cigarette.

Didn't you assure me you'd give up smoking

even before I agreed for our first date?

Remember the hours we spent on the phone,

it was like listening to each other's breath.

Now you're so busy I doubt you'll find time

even to cry upon my death.

Remember the moonlight in which you proposed

saying “Till my last breath I shall love thee”.

I sometimes wonder how I said “Yes”—

is this the way it was supposed to be?

You told me I made you feel so lucky, so complete,

I doubt whether you feel the same for me today.

What could've been so important, that kept you outdoors

even on our anniversary day?

I know I'm an idiot, I'll wait all my life

until you become what you used to be.

Just look back and remember if you can—

is this the way you promised to love me?

What are you up to?

2010-03-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

These days I sense something
I find you happy, I hear you sing.
What is there of late in your eyes?
There's something in them larger than the skies.
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

I find love notes scribbled for me on the mirror,
something I didn't think you would do ever.
You want me to play with you in the snow.
You ask me to take you to the end of a rainbow?
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

You hug me in the middle of the street
and I get delicious foods to eat.
There are extra kisses in store for me,
it's been long you demanded a shopping spree.
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

In my arms you want to spend all your time.
Why is it that your lips don't get off mine?
You want me to dance with you in the rain.
You ask me to marry you all over again?
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

You want me to chat with you for long,
Why do you say sorry even when I'm wrong?
You've stolen my heart once before.
Are you making me fall for you once more?
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

I'm trying to make a guess
figuring out your next move.
What are you up to girl, what are you up to?

My Sojourn to the E100

2010-03-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

One afternoon of winter 2010 A.D
as roaring thunderbolts and heavy rains
bombarded the Earth from above,
before my lawn, on my couch I lay,
struggling to steal a much needed nap.

Suddenly I was stirred by a deafening sound,
and ruffled by a flash of blinding light
when I figured a flying object unidentified,
lowering its deck as if inviting me,
still floating inches above the ground.

I had no choice but to get on board
and minutes later I was in a world
never seen or explored before.

On the E100, as they called their planet,
I saw those aliens in bulky space suits.
Even I was handed over one to save myself
from the blazing sun spitting fire,
engulfing everything exposed in its way.
A canister of oxygen on my back lay,
and now I looked an astronaut on land.

I was elated when they gave me an approval
to jaunt around their planet in a space car.
Nothing of that sort had I seen before:
No trees, no birds, no seas and no animals,
just miles of barren land till the horizon.

Some strange edifices I spotted.
"These are for preserving food," I was told.
Craters that were tourist attractions,
left behind by nukes in the past
and fierce windstorms that were quite a cliché,
hurling dust clouds in the skies as they blew.

This was all I saw for half of the planet I traveled.
The other half I was told was the world of refugees--
ones who couldn't afford water and food,
ones who were hungry and diseased.

Sharing their land with junk from the other half,
with their loved ones' carcasses they lived,
until they met their fates, giving way
to unfortunates from the lucky side..

Then came the bombshell,
"You're up next"--someone grumbled in my ears.
The airless ambiance was smothering me hard,
showing not one bit of mercy.

Just then I heard a voice calling me,
as it slowly grew louder and clearer.
And suddenly I saw my mom beside me,
trying to awaken me from my deep slumber.

Nightmarish as it may seem,
I realized that the E100 I had just been to--
was in reality our Mother Earth,
and the aliens--the humans of tomorrow,
exactly one hundred years from now.

Beyond silences

2010-03-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Tranquility is all that lies on her face
as she awaits her ultimate odyssey
while the moon gears up to hide every ray from the sun
and the stage is set for the hide and seek to commence.

As the noon begins waning into an elegant night,
shooting from the skies I see a star.
Nostalgia gleams within me when I see it exist
before it breaks into a million sparks.

These winds have endorsed our sublime love,
witnessing the blaze of the envious sun
who once sought to savor our hearts oven fresh.
Thanks to some clouds for our souls they rose,
moved by the sight of an unruffled shadow.

The heavens then assailed in a colossal blitz,
showering a barrage of fatal thunderbolts.
Perhaps they saw us snuggle to keep from the shivers
and stopped; etching a rainbow across the sky.

The sun, the clouds, the winds and the stars--
to our eternal love they've all stood testimony.
Love that's beyond the flimsy promises of seventeen,
staying as crisp as every milestone it crossed in between.
Love that endured adversities with a smile,
silently withstanding every test of time.

And now when I've no choice but to bid her adieu,
calm is the air, not one leaf it stirs.
Perhaps it's sorry, streaming lightly down her grave,
kissing her serene visage one final time.

The sun breaks through the curse and is shining at once,
casting lukewarm rays on her soft crimson lips,
waking her eyes up, infusing them with life.

Like petals they bloom, looking at me unperturbed,
as she whispers those words
she didn't get a chance to before:

What if my life's been taken away?
I have and I will love you evermore
for love is a bond between two souls
and souls live for ages after they die.

I promise I'll hold your hand as I always did,
our lives would be the way we lived till today.
Just don't be sad if you don't see my chair rock
for now I'll be there even closer to you
in the most secure place the universe has seen,
sound asleep--in your arms.

Her eyes flutter close and fades away the smile,
like a flickering candle when it evanesces--
though the glow inside me has just born again.